Dr. Kevin Swinden

Contact Information

Languages Spoken

English

Academic Background

BMus (Theory and Composition), University of Western Ontario, 1992Ph.D. (Music Theory), University of Buffalo, State University of New York, 1997

Biography

Dr. Kevin J. Swinden is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Theory at Wilfrid Laurier University. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Western Ontario and his PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo where he was awarded the Thomas J. Clifton Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in the area of Music Theory. In 2006, he was awarded a fellowship to the Mannes Institute for Advanced Studies in Music Theory, where the topic was “Chromaticism.” In 2013, Dr. Swinden was chosen as the recipient for the Hoffman Little Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association.

Dr. Swinden specializes in chromatic harmony of the late 19th century. He has published articles in Music Theory Spectrum, College Music Symposium, Music Analysis, and contributed a chapter on Bruckner’s Harmony to the Cambridge Companion to Bruckner. He has been the invited keynote speaker for the annual meeting of the South Central Society for Music Theory (2006) and the UWO Graduate Music Symposium (2009). He has recently presented papers at meetings of the South Central Society for Music Theory, Music Theory Midwest, the West Coast Conference for Music Theory and Analysis, and the International Conference on 19th century music in Durham, UK. Dr. Swinden is a past president of the South Central Society for Music Theory. His primary areas of research include chromatic harmony and its pedagogy, seeking to bridge Schenkerian theory, Function theory, and Transformational theory.

"The Hidden Curriculum of Chromatic Harmony" Invited Keynote address presented at the annual meeting of the University of Western Ontario Graduate Music Symposium, May 9-10, 2009. (London, ON).

“The Medium and the Message: Is Chromaticism Trapped in a Metaphor?” Invited Keynote address presented at the annual meeting of the South Central Society for Music Theory, Mar. 11–12, 2006 (Hattiesburg, MS).